Russia / Europe & Central Asia

  

Another TV channel threatened with closure

The TV-6 case is strikingly similar to the recent hostile takeover of the independent television network NTV. New York, November 26, 2001—CPJ expressed grave concern over today’s ruling by a Moscow appellate court upholding the liquidation of the private Russian channel TV-6. The appeal was lodged following a September 27 ruling to liquidate TV-6’s parent…

Read More ›

CPJ releases exclusive interview with exiled journalist

Russian war correspondent Anna Politkovskaya fled Moscow in early October after receiving death threats in connection with her coverage of the war in Chechnya. She has settled in Vienna, Austria, where she spoke with CPJ Europe consultant Emma Gray. Until last month, Politkovskaya reported on the two-year-old war in Chechnya for the Moscow-based independent twice-weekly…

Read More ›

Pasko espionage trial under way at last

The prosecution plans to call more than 50 witnesses. Perhaps five of them have any real connection to the case, Pasko says. New York, July 11, 2001—The second trial of Russian military journalist Grigory Pasko finally began today in Vladivostok, nearly four years after his arrest on charges of espionage and revealing state secrets.

Read More ›

CPJ calls for justice in trial of journalist Grigory Pasko

The fact that the trial is being conducted in a secret military court calls into question the impartiality of the entire proceeding.

Read More ›

Journalist flees to Vienna after receiving threats

New York, October 15, 2001—Anna Politkovskaya, a correspondent with Moscow-based newspaper Novaya Gazeta known for her investigative reports on human rights abuses committed by the Russian military in Chechnya, fled to Vienna, Austria, last week. Novaya Gazeta’s deputy editor-in-chief, Sergey Sokolov, told CPJ in a telephone interview today that the threats stemmed from a September…

Read More ›

JOURNALIST IN “FIGHTING SPIRITS” ON EVE OF TRIAL

New York, July 10, 2001—Grigory Pasko, the Russian military journalist who faces trial on charges of espionage and revealing state secrets, says he’s ready for the next stage in his battle with the authorities. “It’s time this case was over. It’s been four years—how much longer can this continue?”

Read More ›

Illegal takeover of provincial station mirrors NTV drama

Your Excellency, The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is concerned by the recent illegal takeover of the television station TVK in central Russia’s Lipetsk Region. After investigating the circumstances, we believe this was a politically motivated attempt by local governor Oleg Korolyov to control the station ahead of gubernatorial elections scheduled for April 2002.

Read More ›

JAPANESE JOURNALIST MISSING IN CAUCASUS

New York, September 26, 2001— Japanese free-lance journalist Kosuke Tsuneoka has now been missing since late July, when he reportedly left Georgia for Chechnya to interview Chechen rebels. Tsuneoka, 32, last communicated with his family via e-mail at the end of July after arriving in Tbilisi, Georgia’s capital, the Japan Economic Newswire reported. He wrote…

Read More ›

NEWSPAPER PUBLISHER MURDERED

New York, September 24, 2001—Eduard Markevich, editor and publisher of a local newspaper in the town of Reftinskiy, Sverdlovsk Region, was found dead last Tuesday night, according to press reports. He had been shot in the back. Markevich, 29, edited Novyy Reft, a paper that was often critical of local officials. The journalist’s colleagues told…

Read More ›

Censoring the New War

After the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington D.C., defending press freedom has become more important than ever before.

Read More ›